Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Sammy Watkins in Rookie of the Year mix

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

The Buffalo Bills' season might have ended with little excitement, but its offseason has been action-packed.

You can add a Rookie of the Year candidate to that list of story lines.

Three of the five offensive ROTY candidates this season are wide receivers, a list that includes Clemson product Sammy Watkins. The 21-year-old wideout was nominated after finishing the year with 982 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Watkins finished fourth among rookie receivers in yards and fifth in receptions (65). Other receivers up for the honor include the Giants' Odell Beckham, Jr. and Tampa Bay's Mike Evans, who topped Watkins in each of the aforementioned categories.

Also nominated was Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and Cincinnati running back Jeremy Hill.

While Watkins's efforts set two rookie club records, his overall output was overshadowed by the impact Evans had on the two-win Bucs offense, as well as Beckham's ridiculous catches. Beckham also finished in the top 10 in the league in overall receiving yards (1,305) despite missing four games to injury.

Watkins was the first of the three receivers to be drafted, going fourth. Evans went seventh, followed by Beckham (12th).